MODELING OF EVAPORATION FROM NANOPOROUS MEMBRANES USING MOLECULAR DYNAMICS SIMULATION

Evaporation from nanoporous structures is widely studied theoretically and experimentally due to its huge potential in thermal management of high heat flux electronic devices. Yet a fundamental understanding of liquid-vapor interfacial transport is lacking due to the absence of a molecular/atomic level modeling framework. In the current study, a computational setup is constructed to model the steady-state, continuous evaporation from a single nanopore, which is analogous to a nanoporous membrane due to the utilization of proper periodic boundary conditions. Under increasing heat loads, shape and position of the evaporating meniscus are observed, and different evaporation regimes (pinning and receding) are identified. An uncommon, self-regulation of the meniscus during receding is discovered and the underlying physical mechanism is elucidated. Heat removal ability of the nanopore is examined in response to different operating conditions. To the best of the author knowledge, the current study is the first attempt to model the evaporation from a nanoporous membrane incorporating non-continuum effects associated with the both liquid and vapor flows. The methodology presented opens up an avenue for the molecular/atomic level modeling of evaporation from nanoporous membranes.